1. Field
The following description relates to a display device having a backlight unit which radiates light to a display panel.
2. Description of the Related Art
A display panel using a liquid crystal display (LCD), which is common in display devices, does not emit light directly. Therefore, a backlight unit is provided at the rear of the display panel, and a light diffuser or a light guide plate is installed between the display panel and the backlight unit, so that light radiated from the backlight unit may be diffused through the light diffuser to be uniformly distributed to the entirety of the display panel.
Display devices are divided into a direct type and an edge type according to the positions of backlight units. A direct type display device has a structure in which a plurality of light emitting diodes is broadly arranged at the rear of a display panel and thus directly radiate light to the display panel. An edge type display device has a structure in which a plurality of light emitting diodes is arranged at the edge of a display panel and light radiated from the plurality of light emitting diodes is diffused by a light guide plate and then transmitted to the display panel.
In the above conventional direct type display device, if a distance between the display panel and the backlight unit is excessively short, light radiated from the respective light emitting diodes may form a hot spot on the display panel. In order to prevent formation of a hot spot, a distance between the display panel and the backlight unit should be sufficient, and thus, the thickness of the display device is increased and slimming of a product is limited. The edge type display device may be advantageous in terms of slimming of the display device, as compared to the direct type display device, but additionally requires the light guide plate to guide light radiated from the light emitting diodes at the edge of the display panel to the central region of the display panel, and may be thus disadvantageous in terms of price competitiveness.